Kitchen Air-Conditioning System

ABSTRACT

A kitchen air-conditioning system comprises an air-conditioning assembly (1) and a range hood assembly (2); the air-conditioning assembly (1) comprises a compressor (11), a first heat exchanger (12) and a second heat exchanger (13), the compressor (11) is connected with the first heat exchanger (12) and the second heat exchanger (13) through a plurality of refrigerating medium pipes (14); the range hood assembly (2) comprises a fan (21) with a fan outlet (211), the compressor (11) is attached to the range hood assembly (2), and the first heat exchanger (12) is disposed inside the air exhaust passage. So the entire structure of the system is more compact, and easier for installation without separate installation of an air-conditioner outdoor unit, and flue gas discharged into the air exhaust passage can take away the heat of the first heat exchanger or heat the first heat exchanger, thereby improving the energy efficiency of the air-conditioner.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a kitchen air-conditioning system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As a main place for people to cook, the kitchen air environment directlyaffects the mood of the cook. Especially in summer, the sultry kitchenenvironment brings great discomfort to the cook. Accordingly, variouskitchen air-conditioners have been proposed to cool the kitchen.

There is no significant difference between the existing kitchenair-conditioners and common air conditioners. There are generally twoforms of kitchen air-conditioners. One form is split kitchenair-conditioner. That is, the outdoor unit is located outdoors, theindoor unit is located indoors, and the indoor and outdoor units eachhave a motor fan. The connection of the indoor and outdoor units in thesplit kitchen air-conditioner is realized by pipelines. Such aconnection requires the formation of a hole on the wall, which destroysthe decoration. Since the outdoor unit is hung outdoors, the structureis not compact enough and it is less aesthetically pleasing. The otherform is integrated kitchen air-conditioner. That is, a dual-axis motoror two motors may be used. The integrated kitchen air-conditionerusually comprises a portable air conditioner and a window unit. When theportable air conditioner is used, it needs to be manually connected tothe heat dissipation hose, and then the hose needs to be placed outsidethe window, which is inconvenient to use. It is necessary to form alarge square hole on the wall, into which the window unit is placed.When not in use, the window unit may be moved from the hole. Althoughthe square hole may be blocked with other things, it is messy and itdestroys the decoration.

In addition, due to the limited space in the kitchen, the kitchen airconditioner should be not too large in size. Therefore, the heatdissipation of the kitchen air conditioner becomes a challengingproblem. If the in-time heat dissipation of the kitchen air conditionerfails during its use, the energy efficiency of the air conditioner willbe greatly reduced. However, the existing kitchen air conditioner andthe range hood operate independently of each other, and they cannot belinked. The heat energy generated by the kitchen air conditioner cannotbe exhausted to the outside through the fan of the range hood.Therefore, how to exhaust the heat energy generated by the kitchen airconditioner through the range hood becomes an urgent problem. Besides,outdoor units of existing kitchen air-conditioners are all mountedoutdoors, resulting in a less compact structure and more troublesomeinstallation. To sum up, the existing kitchen air-conditioning systemsneed to be further improved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of the present invention to provide a kitchenair-conditioning system, which is compact in structure and easy forinstallation.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a kitchenair-conditioning system with a good heat exchange effect.

For achieving the first object, the kitchen air-conditioning systemcomprises: an air-conditioning assembly and a range hood assembly;wherein, the air-conditioning assembly further comprises a compressor, afirst heat exchanger and a second heat exchanger, the compressor isconnected with the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchangerthrough a plurality of refrigerating medium pipes, and the first heatexchanger is connected with the second heat exchanger through arefrigerating medium pipe; the range hood assembly comprising a fan witha fan outlet and an air exhaust passage connected to the fan outlet;wherein, the compressor is attached to the range hood assembly, and thefirst heat exchanger is disposed inside the air exhaust passage.

For achieving the second object, preferably, the air exhaust passage ofthe kitchen air-conditioning system is divided into a first air exhaustpassage and a second air exhaust passage by a turnout, and a switchingvalve is disposed at the turnout; the switching valve connects the fanoutlet to the first air exhaust passage or to the second air exhaustpassage; and the first heat exchanger is disposed inside the first airexhaust passage.

To avoid fume from polluting the first heat exchanger, preferably, afume purification device is disposed inside the first air exhaustpassage and in front of the first heat exchanger.

Preferably, the air-conditioning assembly comprises a fresh air inletand a fresh air outlet; the fresh air inlet is in communication withexternal environment, and the fresh air outlet locates in front of thesecond heat exchanger and communicates with interior space of thekitchen.

To make the air blown out from the fresh air outlet cleaner, preferably,a plurality of fresh air purification devices are disposed in air ductsof the fresh air inlet and in the fresh air outlet.

Preferably, a throttle valve is disposed in one of the refrigeratingmedium pipers between the first heat exchanger and the second heatexchanger.

Preferably, a four-way valve is disposed on one of the refrigeratingmedium pipes. The air conditioner can be switched between cooling andheating modes through the four-way valve. In the cooling mode, the firstheat exchanger is a condenser, the second heat exchanger is anevaporator, and an air conditioner vent blows cold air to cool air inthe kitchen. In the heating mode, the first heat exchanger is anevaporator, the second heat exchanger is a condenser, and the airconditioner vent blows warm air.

As a preference of any of the above solutions, the air-conditioningassembly further comprises a motor, a first fan and a second fan, thefirst fan and the second fan are coaxially mounted to the motor; thefirst fan and the second fan rotate together driven by the motor, andboth are disposed at back of the second heat exchanger.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has followingadvantages. In the kitchen air-conditioning system, the compressor isintegrated on the range hood assembly, so the system is more compact inits entire structure, and easier for installation without separateinstallation of an air-conditioner outdoor unit. Moreover, the firstheat exchanger of the air-conditioning assembly is disposed in the airexhaust passage of the range hood assembly, and flue gas discharged intothe air exhaust passage can take away the heat of the first heatexchanger or heat the first heat exchanger, thereby improving the energyefficiency of the air-conditioner.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of a kitchen air-conditioning system in which a firstair exhaust passage is open according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a view of the kitchen air-conditioning system in which thefirst air exhaust passage is closed according to the embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention will be further described below in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings by embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it is a preferred embodiment of a kitchenair-conditioning system according to the present invention. The kitchenair-conditioning system comprises an air-conditioning assembly 1 and arange hood assembly 2.

The air-conditioning assembly 1 comprises a compressor 11, a first heatexchanger 12 and a second heat exchanger 13, the compressor 11 isconnected with the first heat exchanger 12 and the second heat exchanger13 through a plurality of refrigerating medium pipes 14. A throttlevalve 18 is disposed in one of the refrigerating medium pipers 14between the first heat exchanger 12 and the second heat exchanger 13,and a four-way valve (not shown) is disposed on one of the refrigeratingmedium pipes 14 between the compressor 11 and the first heat exchanger12. By switching the four-way valve, the air-conditioning assembly 1 canbe switched between cooling and heating modes. In the cooling mode, thefirst heat exchanger 12 is a condenser and the second heat exchanger 13is an evaporator. In the heating mode, the first heat exchanger 12 is anevaporator and the second heat exchanger 13 is a condenser. Theoperating principle of the air-conditioning assembly 1 is the same asthat of existing air-conditioners, which will not be described here.

The range hood assembly 2 comprising a fan 21 with a fan outlet 211 andan air exhaust passage connected to the fan outlet 211, the compressor11 of the air-conditioning assembly 1 is attached to the range hoodassembly 2, and the first heat exchanger 12 is disposed inside the airexhaust passage.

Specifically, the air exhaust passage is divided into a first airexhaust passage 22 and a second air exhaust passage 23 by a turnout 31,and a switching valve 3 is disposed at the turnout 31; the switchingvalve 3 connects the fan outlet to the first air exhaust passage 22 orto the second air exhaust passage 23.

In this embodiment, the first heat exchanger 12 is disposed inside thefirst air exhaust passage 22. To avoid fume from polluting the firstheat exchanger 12, a fume purification device 4 is disposed inside thefirst air exhaust passage 22 and in front of the first heat exchanger12, thereby prolonging the service life of the first heat exchanger 12and improving the energy efficiency of the air-conditioner.

The air-conditioning assembly 1 comprises a fresh air inlet 15 and afresh air outlet 16, and a plurality of fresh air purification devices17 are disposed in air ducts of the fresh air inlet 15 and in the freshair outlet 16. The fresh air inlet 15 is in communication with externalenvironment, and the fresh air outlet 16 locates in front of the secondheat exchanger 13 and communicates with interior space of the kitchen.

In this embodiment, the air-conditioning assembly 1 further comprises amotor 193, a first fan 191 and a second fan 192, the first fan 191 andthe second fan 192 are coaxially mounted to the motor 193; the first fan191 and the second fan 192 rotate together driven by the motor 193, andboth are disposed at back of the second heat exchanger 13.

When the air conditioner is started up, the first air exhaust passage 22is open and the second air exhaust passage 23 is closed by switching theswitching valve 3. Taking the cooling mode of the air-conditioner as anexample, the first heat exchanger 12 is the condenser and the secondheat exchanger 13 is the evaporator, fresh air from the fresh air inlet15 is cooled down and then blown out from the fresh air outlet 16 tosupply cold air for the kitchen. Meanwhile, flue gas discharged from thefan 21 enters the first air exhaust passage 22 to dissipate heat of thecondenser and is discharged from the first air exhaust passage 22 aftertaking away heat, thereby improving the heat exchange effect of thefirst heat exchanger 12 and further facilitating improving the energyefficiency of the air-conditioner.

When the air conditioner stops running, a range hood is in normaloperation. At this moment, the first air exhaust passage 22 is closedand the second air exhaust passage 23 is open by switching the switchingvalve 3, and the flue gas discharged from the fan 21 enters the secondair exhaust passage 23 and then is discharged.

1. A kitchen air-conditioning system, comprising: an air-conditioningassembly (1) and a range hood assembly (2); wherein, theair-conditioning assembly (1) further comprises a compressor (11), afirst heat exchanger (12) and a second heat exchanger (13), thecompressor (11) is connected with the first heat exchanger (12) and thesecond heat exchanger (13) through a plurality of refrigerating mediumpipes (14), and the first heat exchanger (12) is connected with thesecond heat exchanger (13) through a refrigerating medium pipe (14); therange hood assembly (2) comprising a fan (21) with a fan outlet (211)and an air exhaust passage connected to the fan outlet (211); wherein,the compressor (11) is attached to the range hood assembly (2), and thefirst heat exchanger (12) is disposed inside the air exhaust passage. 2.The system of claim 1, wherein the air exhaust passage is divided into afirst air exhaust passage (22) and a second air exhaust passage (23) bya turnout (31), and a switching valve (3) is disposed at the turnout(31); the switching valve (3) connects the fan outlet to the first airexhaust passage (22) or to the second air exhaust passage (23); and thefirst heat exchanger (12) is disposed inside the first air exhaustpassage (22).
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein a fume purificationdevice (4) is disposed inside the first air exhaust passage (22) and infront of the first heat exchanger (12).
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the air-conditioning assembly (1) comprises a fresh air inlet(15) and a fresh air outlet (16); the fresh air inlet (15) is incommunication with external environment, and the fresh air outlet (16)locates in front of the second heat exchanger (13) and communicates withinterior space of the kitchen.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein aplurality of fresh air purification devices (17) is disposed in airducts of the fresh air inlet (15) and in the fresh air outlet (16). 6.The system of claim 1, wherein a throttle valve (18) is disposed in oneof the refrigerating medium pipers (14) between the first heat exchanger(12) and the second heat exchanger (13).
 7. The system of claim 1,wherein a four-way valve is disposed on one of the refrigerating mediumpipes (14).
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the air-conditioningassembly (1) further comprises a motor (193), a first fan (191) and asecond fan (192), the first fan (191) and the second fan (192) arecoaxially mounted to the motor (193); the first fan (191) and the secondfan (192) rotate together driven by the motor (193), and both aredisposed at back of the second heat exchanger (13).